Reminiscing
by xxVegetasTorturistxx
Summary: Bulma just wants to feel young again. Can Vegeta do that for her? Rated T for safety.


Trunks sat at the table in the kitchen, eating his dinner before going to Goten's house to stay for the weekend. He laughed as his mother ruffled his hair, humming and smiling to herself. Everything, as of right now, was perfect. Vegeta had been in a decent mood for quite awhile now, Trunks wasn't getting in to trouble, the planet wasn't in danger-for once, and her parents had finally decided that it was time to move out and let Bulma raise her family in the only house that was suitable for their needs.

"I'm assuming you're flying over there?"

"Mmhmm." Trunks said, milk dripping down his chin. He wiped it away with his hand and swallowed. "Of course I'm flying, why wouldn't I?"

Bulma smiled. "Sometimes it's just nice to drive over there, see Chi-Chi and everything."

"Why don't you just drive over there sometime? You don't need me to go with you, you're a big girl." Trunks smirked, shoving more food into his mouth.

Bulma rolled her eyes. _Just like your father, smartass little prince._ She smiled to herself and walked out of the room and up the stairs toward her bedroom. "Make sure you tell me when you're leaving!"

"Okay!" Trunks called back to her.

_Isn't it crazy, Bulma? You've grown up so much since Vegeta came in to your life… since he's been here you've had to stop your life of partying and drinking and dancing… you had to give up your youth. That's a sad way to put it, but it's true. You had to take care of his royal pain-in-the-ass, but it was worth it. _Bulma picked up a picture of Trunks that sat on her dresser. She smiled. _Yeah. Definitely worth it. But then again, why can't you go out dancing again? I bet Vegeta would go out with you… why wouldn't he? You can get him to do anything. He's totally wrapped around your finger. Not like Yamcha was, but still…. Ah! Yamcha! Ew! Why am I even thinking of his name? Gross! _Bulma put the picture back, shaking her head.

"Mooooooooooom!" Trunks called from downstairs.

"What, hun?"

"I'm leaving!"

"I love you! Be careful!"

"I will!"

And with that, she heard her son fly off toward the Son house. _You know what? I want to go out dancing. We're going out dancing. Yup. I've decided. _She walked hastily to her office and flipped on the screen to look in to the gravity chamber. "Vegetaaaa…"

He stopped mid-kick and looked up at the screen. "Well, well, this hasn't happened in quite awhile. What's the occasion?" He smirked.

"Come out of there and take a shower."

"Will you be joining?"

Bulma giggled. "Not this time. I've got some plans for us tonight."

Vegeta raised an eyebrow. "Being?"

"I want to go dancing."

"Mmph…"

"Pleeeeease, Vegeta? I haven't been dancing in soooo long. Trunks is gone for the weekend, let's go… please?" She pouted and put her hands together under her chin.

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine. I'll go."

She smiled. "Good. I'll meet you in the living room in an hour and a half."

"And by that you mean at least two hours, right?" His smirk widened.

"Shut up." She blew him a kiss and shut off the screen, going back to her room to get ready.

Vegeta sighed, shutting off the machine. _Silly woman. What makes her think I can dance? Granted, I can. It's part of the whole "culture" thing of being a prince. But what made her think I would actually go with her? Whatever. I guess it couldn't hurt…_ He'd changed so much since she came in to his life. Before her, he was nothing but a cold-hearted, broken man who cared for no one but himself. Now…now, he was actually in love. With a human. And they had a child, whom he also loved. He smiled to himself as he turned on the cool water of his shower, stepping under the stream. He closed his eyes, letting the water wash off the sweat that stuck to his body.

After he was done with his shower, he walked into the house and up the stairs toward their room. When he started opening the door, it was immediately slammed shut in his face. Stunned, his eyes widened, but he quickly regained composure and leaned close to the door. "Woman?"

"You can't come in."

"And….why not?"

"Because. I'm getting ready."

"Nothing I haven't seen before." Vegeta smirked.

"That isn't why! I don't care about you seeing me naked! It's about you seeing me before I'm ready for the evening!"

"Is it bad luck or something? That was your excuse for the wedding too, I'm not buying." He smirked, laughing slightly. He tried opening the door again, but once more he was shut out. "Woman… I need to get ready too."

"Are you sitting out there naked?"

"No?"

"Than I'm not concerned." She laughed. "Wait your turn."

"You know, I'm going to see you when I walk in there to get ready."

"Not if I go in to the bathroom!"

"You're crazy. Fine, I'll wait." He sat down, back against the door, eyes closed.

About half an hour passed before the door opened, causing Vegeta to fall backwards and land flat on his back, head smacking against the floor. Before he could grab her by the ankles and ask her what the hell she was thinking, Bulma had already scampered off in to the bathroom. He thought momentarily about ripping the bathroom door off it's hinges, but decided against it. If the night goes well, he may have a good time after they come home. He smirked, standing up.

He opened up his dresser and pulled out a white muscle shirt and tight black jeans, then put on his black boots. His hair, still damp from the shower, hung freely over his shoulders. Bulma liked his hair down, maybe he should leave it like this for the night. He could deal with the minor discomfort. He ran a brush through it a few times and looked in the mirror. _Guess I look okay. She probably looks a million times better, but what else is new?_ "Can I see you, my queen?" He smirked.

"No!"

"What!"

"Go downstairs!"

"….why?"

"Because, you have to see me walk down the stairs, don't you know these things by now?"

Vegeta shook his head. "Of course, how could I forget the famous diva entrance? Alright, alright, I'm leaving." He stood up and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. He decided against standing right outside the door and instead followed instructions, heading to the bottom of the stairs to wait for her on the couch. He wasn't sure why he was so full of mischievous ideas tonight, but he was upset that his odds of getting laid were so high tonight, otherwise he would act on them.

A few minutes later, Bulma cleared her throat from the top of the staircase. Vegeta smiled and stood up, standing at the bottom of the stairs. He looked up and forced his bottom jaw to stay attached to it's other half. There she was, his wife of nine years, looking almost more beautiful than he had ever seen her. Of course, she was most beautiful on the day of their wedding, but this…this was close. Her aqua hair was straightened and hung down to her upper back, eyes decorated in smoky makeup and lips as red as the blood he shed for her. The dress she was wearing made it look like she was wearing sparkling black body paint and her heels made Vegeta inwardly cringe, high red stilettos. She smiled. "Well?"

He blinked a few times. "I feel inferior."

She laughed and her eyes widened. "The great Prince Vegeta feels inferior? To me? Well, I'm honored." She smiled.

"But seriously, you look…. Wow… gorgeous."

"Young?"

"You always look young." He said, wrapping her arms around her and kissing her forehead.

"Someone's sucking up." She laughed.

"Bulma, you are young. You're only forty-two."

"You could have ended with that last sentence."

Vegeta scoffed. "You're ridiculous."

"Oh, we already knew that." She said, pulling away from him. "Now, are we flying or are we taking the car?"

"Well… usually when I suggest flying anywhere you come up with the excuse that you don't want to mess up your hair. And with it looking this good tonight, I'm guessing you're going with that?" He smirked.

"Guess you're right." She smiled. "And speaking of hair…" She ran her fingers through his. "I like it." She kissed his cheek and he took her hand, holding it at his side. He walked them toward the door and held it open for her, like the royal gentleman he was supposed to be.

Once in the car, Bulma turned on the radio and started singing along to every song that came on. Vegeta rolled his eyes and shook his head at her. _How could I have fallen in love with someone so silly?_ They arrived at the club and got out of the car. Bulma insisted that letting the valet take their car was okay, but Vegeta wasn't so sure. He followed her in though, taking her word for it since she was the experienced one in the situation.

When they got in, Vegeta actually liked the atmosphere of the place. The entire building was a purple glow, blacklights were the only source of lights, along with a strobe light on the dance floor. Bulma lead him to a booth and they sat down, Bulma sitting on his lap. Vegeta smiled, thinking back to a time when he was ashamed of showing affection in public. Anymore, everyone knew about them, so it didn't honestly matter if he showed it or not. Of course, he chose to as much and as often as possible. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck. Several people stopped at their table and asked for pictures with them or autographs. It was all so crazy, being part of one of the most famous couples in the known world.

After the Bulma and Vegeta fan club dispersed, Bulma giggled, wrapping her arms around Vegeta's neck. "You want to get some drinks? I'm gonna need some alcohol in me before the night's over." She laughed.

Vegeta nodded, standing up and setting her down in the booth. He walked over to the bar and looked back at Bulma while the bartender was making their drinks. However, she wasn't looking back at him. She was talking with another girl and a man, who had sat across the booth from her. Vegeta's eyes narrowed as he tried to hear their conversation, but the music was so loud that even his Saiyan hearing couldn't hear that far away. He turned around as the bartender set his drinks on the counter, paid him, then walked back over to their table.

As soon as he got back, the other couple got up and left, waving goodbye to Bulma. She stood up and Vegeta sat down, inviting her to sit back down on his lap. She followed his hint and sat down, sipping on the strawberry daiquiri he had ordered for her. "Who was that?" Vegeta asked, gesturing toward the couple that had walked away.

"Just some old friends I used to go out with all the time. Before…" She stopped, taking another sip.

"Before what?"

"Before you and I got together."

"Oh…"

"Not that I think that I made the wrong choice, because I didn't. I'm just stating facts. They were wondering where I had been."

"I see…" Vegeta said, taking a few long swigs from his beer.

"You gonna dance with me?" Bulma asked, scooting closer to him.

Vegeta smirked. "I don't know… have we ever danced before?"

"Just at our wedding. And that's a whooole different kind of dancing." She laughed.

"Oh, I guess you're right. Well, I don't know how good I'll be… slow dancing is pretty much idiot proof, but this….this looks like it could be a challenge." His smirked widened and he took another swig from his beer.

"I thought you liked challenges?" Bulma dared him.

"Ahh… you got me, there. Okay, I guess I'll dance with you." He smiled, throwing his glass bottle into a garbage can across the room. Bulma smiled, finishing off her daiquiri, then lead him to the dance floor. He stood facing her awhile, letting her do most of the work, playing up the thought in her mind that he didn't know what he was doing. Then suddenly he smirked and spun her around, wrapping her arms around her, moving his hands up and down her bare legs, feeling her body rub against his. Her eyes were surprised, as he had hoped she would be. "I never told you I could dance, did I?"

She shook her head. "No, no you didn't."

"What is a prince without banquets? And what's a banquet without dancing?"

"Guess you're right."

He buried his face in her neck, kissing and biting at her skin. She arched her head back, resting it on his shoulder. They knew people were looking at them with both awe and envy, but what else was new? They continued dancing for hours before returning to their table, sweaty and out of breath. Bulma took her place on Vegeta's lap and they both sat there, foreheads pressed together, smiling and gasping for air. The waitress came to their table with a strawberry daiquiri and a beer, smiling, then nodded to another table.

Both of them slowly looked up toward the table and saw the three people they most definitely didn't want to see sitting there. Mr. Roshi, lord knows he got it all on tape and was going to go home and try to rub one out to it. Goku, who was surely going to bring it up to Vegeta on any chance that came his way. And Yamcha, who was always trying to win Bulma back. The couple waved at them, but spoke under their breath to each other. "What do we do?" Bulma asked.

"I say we leave."

"We can't just leave!"

"Yes, yes we can." Vegeta said, starting to stand up. Suddenly, Yamcha was standing before them, smiling down at Bulma.

"Bulma… you look… absolutely delicious." Yamcha said, looking her up and down, then looked back to Vegeta, who was clenching his fists and gritting his teeth. "Mind if I take her for a walk down memory lane, pal?"

"I'll take you for a walk-"

"Vegeta!" Bulma came between them, one hand on each of their chests. She looked at Yamcha. "I'd love to dance with you." She looked back at Vegeta. "Behave." She kissed his cheek, then walked away to the floor with Yamcha. Vegeta grabbed his beer and walked over to the table with the old pervert and the inferior idiot. He sat down and upon seeing Roshi open his mouth, shoved a handful of napkins into it.

"Say one word about my wife, and I'll rip it off."

Roshi spit out the napkins and laughed nervously. Goku patted Vegeta on the back. "You sure you're okay with this?"

"Whoever said I was is going to die." Vegeta said, chugging his beer. "Fuck, I hate him…"

"Yeah… it's kind of ridiculous, what he's doing."

They both looked to the dance floor. Watching Yamcha try to dance was humorous, but not enough that it made up for the jealousy Vegeta felt. _Why am I jealous of him? He's nothing compared to me. She chose me. I'm her husband. What does he matter anymore?_

After awhile, the two came back from dancing and Yamcha smiled at Vegeta. "Thanks, man, really needed the memory jog."

Vegeta stood, wrapping his arm around Bulma. "Can we go?"

Bulma nodded, waving to the three men at the table.

Vegeta glared back at Yamcha until they were out the door, then stormed to the car, Bulma right behind him, running in her heels. "Vegeta? Vegeta, wait up!" He sat in the drivers side of the car, staring straight ahead. Bulma climbed in the passenger side and Vegeta sped off before she even had her door shut all the way. "Vegeta! What is your problem?" He paid no attention to her all the way home, letting her scream and accuse him until they got into their driveway. He slammed on the brakes and shut off the car, then turned to her.

"Why did you do it?"

"What?"

"Dance with that stupid asshole!"

"Vegeta, we're friends! You're my husband! It isn't like I had sex with him or anything?"

"No, but… fuck!" He slammed his fists into the steering wheel, denting it. He took a deep breath and spoke quietly now, calmly. "You know how much I hate him…"

"And you know that he'll always have a special place in my heart."

"A place I can never have. I know." Vegeta sighed, getting out of the car.

"What? Vegeta…" Bulma groaned, getting out and walking after him, heels in hand.

He kept walking until they were both inside the house, then turned around. "He has a part of you that I can never have… do you know how much that kills me?"

"What?"

"You know what."

"My virginity."

Vegeta looked down and away from her. "Yes."

"Vegeta…" She walked up to him, wrapping her arms around him. "I know… that has to bother you more than almost anything in this world, and I'm sorry… but you know I love you…"

"Of course I know that."

"You love me too?"

He pulled away from her, looking her in the eyes. "Do you really have to ask?" He smirked.

"Guess not…."

He pulled her in to another embrace. "I just wish I knew what you thought was so great about him…"

"Nothing." She pulled away and turned her back toward him.

"No… it's something… what about him made you keep going back? What about him made you want to dance with him tonight? What does he do for you that I don't?"

"Vegeta, stop."

"So there is something!" He walked around to face her. "What is it? Tell me."

"No." She walked away from him, taking out her earrings as she went up the stairs to their bedroom. He followed closely behind.

"Woman…. Bulma…" He stood behind her, hands wrapped around her upper arms. "Tell me…"

"No."

His grip tightened slightly, then he let go, walking in front of her, hands in his own hair. He turned back around to face her. "I want to let this go but…." His hands tightened in his hair, then he let go and ran his arm over top of their dresser, sending perfume bottles and picture frames flying to the floor. "Fuck! I hate him so much! What is it!" He screamed through gritted teeth.

"Vegeta!" Bulma screamed, kneeling to the floor to pick up his mess.

"I'm sorry but… oh my god, tell me…. I can't take it!"

Bulma stood up, staring at him. "He makes me feel young! I want to be with him again…."

Vegeta stared at her, growing angrier by the second, but his words came out quietly. "You _what?_"

Bulma sat on the foot of their bed and ran a hand through her hair. "I want to be with him again…" A tear fell from her eye and she quickly wiped it away. "I'm sorry…"

"As you should be. And as far as your little fantasy of reminiscing with that idiot goes, you can forget it. You married me. You told me earlier tonight that you made the right choice. I'm not sure what made you change your mind all of a sudden, but I won't have you leaving me for some stupid asshole like him. No, I correct myself, you will leave me for no one." He stormed out of their room, slamming the door behind him. A picture fell off the wall and shattered as he did so.

Bulma let her tears fall freely, burying her face in her hands for a few moments before standing up and walking into the bathroom. She undressed and turned on the shower. She picked up her phone from her purse that was sitting on the floor and texted Chi-Chi. _Can you come over? I really need someone right now…_ After sending the message, she stepped into the shower and let the stinging water beat into her chest, which already hurt from the heartache she felt.

About fifteen minutes later, she stepped out of the shower and got dressed in a pair of Vegeta's pajama pants and a white tank top. She started to go downstairs, but paused and listened for a few minutes.

"You know nothing, you fucking wench!"

"Dammit, Vegeta…" Bulma said to herself, hurriedly running down the stairs and out the front door. As she had expected, there were two of the most important people in her life, fighting as usual. Chi-Chi standing with her hands on her hips and Vegeta screaming so loud that the veins in his neck were about to burst. However, usually his threats were empty. Tonight, though, Bulma decided she better step in before he decided to kill her. She ran over to him and put both hands on his chest. "Vegeta… go inside."

"Why should I?" He asked her, eyes filled with anger and hurt.

"Vegeta, it's nearly 2am… please. Just go inside."

"I'll be in the gravity chamber." He said quietly, walking away from them.

Bulma sighed, then turned around as Chi-Chi rested her hand on her shoulder. "Something happen between you two?"

Bulma teared up and nodded. "Yeah, kind of."

"Well… let's go inside and talk about it." Chi-Chi smiled and lead Bulma inside to the kitchen. "Sit down, I'll make tea." Bulma obeyed and sat at the table, resting her head on her folded arms. "So, tell me all about it. Goku said something happened at the bar tonight."

"Yeah… Vegeta and I went out. I was actually pretty surprised that he went… well, we get there, we get a few drinks, we dance-and by the way, he is an amazing dancer… then, we go back to our table and the waitress bring us drinks from another table. Guess who was at that table."

"Goku, Yamcha, and Roshi."

"Exactly. So Vegeta wants to leave, naturally. I should have listened to him… looking back, it was the best idea he's had in his entire life, I think. Well, anyway, we didn't leave and Yamcha came over and asked if he could dance with me. Vegeta gets pissed, of course, but I didn't see any harm in it, so I decided to dance with him."

"Yamaha's a good dancer, why wouldn't you dance with him?"

Bulma laughed. "He really isn't that good compared to Vegeta… but anyway, we come back and Yamcha thanks Vegeta like the asshole he is….and we leave."

"So Vegeta's mad because you danced with Yamcha?" Chi-Chi asked, walking over with their tea. "That's stupid."

Bulma sipped on her tea. "Well… at first that was why, but…then we came home and he was asking me what I saw in Yamcha and what made me keep going back to him before and all this…"

"I've wondered that myself…"

"He makes me feel young, Chi…"

"And Vegeta doesn't."

Bulma shook her head. "Think about it. Does Goku make you feel young?"

"Well… not usually, but I have a different outlook than you do."

Bulma raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I don't want to feel young. Young means you're stupid and reckless and immature. I don't want that. Do I want to feel alive and beautiful? Of course I do. And Goku _does_ makes me feel like that. Honestly, I think that's what you want to feel too. But you want to _look_ young. You were with Yamcha when you were young and something in your mind is telling you that he'll always see you as that beautiful young woman. Well, you're wrong."

Bulma sighed. "I guess you're right…"

"Does Vegeta make you feel beautiful?"

Bulma smiled. "Of course he does. But kami I feel so old next to him…"

"Why? Because he can lift and entire building with one arm and only ages every two years so he looks like he's twenty years old?"

"Exactly. He's so strong and handsome and all of these young girls want to be with him…"

"Do you think he _wants _to be with someone that young?"

"Why wouldn't he?"

"Because they're stupid, immature, and reckless. And he's in love with you."

"Yeah…"

"And besides, I wouldn't feel so old in comparison to him."

"Why not?"

"He's been through so much… and his body takes so much abuse… that has to age a person. If not physically, than emotionally and mentally. On a mental and emotional scale, he's much older than you. Think about it that way."

"I'd tell you how much of a baby he is, but he might kill me." Bulma laughed.

"Everyone has their weak moments, we all know that. I know Vegeta does. I don't need to know about them just like you don't need to know about Goku's, but you know they happen."

Bulma nodded.

"The point is, he makes you feel alive and beautiful, you have a beautiful son together, and you two are absolutely smitten over each other. Don't let someone like Yamcha get in the way of all that, okay?" Chi-Chi said, resting her hand on top of Bulma's.

She nodded, biting her lower lip. "How was Trunks tonight, by the way?"

"Wonderful as usual. He's a little gentleman if he's inside. Now… when they're outside…." Chi-Chi laughed.

"They tear up the world." They both laughed. "Like father, like son, right?"

"Exactly. Well, Bulma dear…" Chi-Chi stood up. "I think we've talked enough about this, don't you?" She smiled, as did Bulma. "So, I'm going to go back home because Goku is freaking out about why I needed to come over so late." She laughed and walked out the door.

Bulma paced the house for awhile before sitting on the couch. She waited and waited for Vegeta to come back in, but he didn't. She looked at the clock. 4am. She sighed, stood up, and walked outside. She looked at the gravity machine, but nothing was running, not even the lights were on. Slowly, she approached the door. She knocked a few times, but no response came, not even an angry remark. Hesitantly, she opened the door. "Vegeta…"

Once inside, she fell silent. There was her husband, sitting on the floor, watching home movies Bulma had made throughout the last several years. He was so engulfed in them that he hadn't even heard her knock. Slowly, she walked over next to him. Her mother must have been taking the video he was watching now, because it was of the two of them on their first anniversary. Bulma was gigantically pregnant and Vegeta had his arms wrapped around her from behind, rubbing her stomach. The two of them blew out candles on the cake and kissed, making everyone in the room 'awwww' at them. Bulma teared up.

_I think that was the first time since the wedding that he's ever kissed her in public._ They heard Bunny say. Vegeta smiled, which caught Bulma's eye. She sat down next to him as the next video came on. This one was taken at the beginning of their wedding reception. They both had a piece of cake in their hand and they were attempting to feed each other. Upon realizing that this was indeed a difficult task to accomplish, they both shoved the cake into the others face. They both thought that they were the only one with the idea, so they shared a look of surprise for about three seconds before laughing at each other. Vegeta licked the frosting off of Bulma's face and she grimaced.

Vegeta gave a slight laugh, shutting off the television. "That's my favorite from the wedding…" He said quietly, taking her hand.

"It's one of mine, too… where did you find those?"

"I had them stashed away in here. I watch them pretty often, actually…" He looked away from her, running his thumb over her hand. "They make me remember… when I was young." He looked back at her and gave a weak smile, looking away again.

He was going to cry. A rare event, but Bulma knew when it was going to happen. Within the next hour, he was going to cry. "Vegeta…" She moved in front of him and sat on his lap, his legs outstretched behind her. "You are young. Look at you…"

"Looks are deceiving, Bulma."

"Yeah… Chi-Chi and I were just talking about you, actually…."

"Yeah? What'd she have to say? That I'm an arrogant, high-and-mighty jerk who only cares about himself and his success?" The words sounded like they hurt him just to say.

"No… she told me not to feel old next to you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. She explained everything….pretty well, actually. I never thought about it before, but… you're actually a lot older than me."

"Guess you're right."

Bulma nodded. "I'm sorry…"

Vegeta shrugged. "Just wish I could make you feel like he does…"

"Don't be jealous of him. I've had an epiphany anyway. I don't want to feel young. I was stupid and reckless when I was young. And you deserve someone who isn't like that." She smiled, kissing his nose.

"I deserve the best. I've told you that for years. And I got it. So why in the name of my race do you not think you're perfect?"

Bulma smiled and pushed him down onto his back. She laid down, head on his chest, and smiled as he wrapped his arms around her. It was moments like these that she was glad she had struck up an interest with the Saiyan prince. Nothing felt better than his arms around her and his heartbeat pounding underneath her. "I love you, Vegeta."

"I love you too, Bulma." There was a slight jump in his chest as he said it, and Bulma knew that she had been right. She lifted her head up and looked at him, cupping his face in her hands so he couldn't move away.

"Why do you always try to hide it? You should know by now that I know you better." She kissed his forehead. "And I've told you before… it's okay to cry."

"Not for me, it isn't."

"Well, it doesn't matter what you want, just like with our wedding. All that matters is what I want." She giggled. "And I want you to stop hiding from me. I think it's sexy."

"When I cry?"

She nodded. "Emotions are sexy." She laughed, kissing a tear that had rested on his cheek. "And there's nothing to cry about now anyway. Not a thing. I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere."

"Promise?"

"Promise." She whispered, kissing his lips.


End file.
